The meeting opened with a prayer and then Roy led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Lennon then spoke on several subjects and noted that all four major candidates running for Mayor of Houston had addressed their group previously. She stated that all of them had come across as conservatives but that based upon their records, Roy was truly the only conservative and that the group had invited him back to make certain that their members understood this. The impression I got was that Annise Parker, Peter Brown and Gene Locke had tailored their message to the audience that was listening rather than campaign openly and honestly.
Ms. Lennon also talked about the race in NY-23 that has received so much media attention. She stated, correctly, that the Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, was more liberal than most Southern Democrats and encouraged the crowd to make a donation to the campaign of Doug Hoffman. She also endorsed the campaign of John Faulk, who is running in the Republican primary against Tex Christopher for the opportunity to challenge Sheila Jackson Lee in the general election next year. She went so far as to pass around envelopes for both Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Faulk.
Ms. Lennon then turned the mic over to Larry Lane. Mr. Lane’s job was to introduce Roy but before he did that, he was gracious and recognized two other candidates, Curtis Garmon and David Smith. Mr. Garmon is running for Houston City Council At-Large 4 against Noel Freeman and C.O. Bradford. He is certainly the best choice for that position. Mr. Smith is a Libertarian that will be running against Ted Poe in the general election next year.
Then Roy took over and I must say, his hard work and busy schedule have sharpened his speaking ability. He was more dynamic than I have seen and his message was sharp and focused. I find myself shaking my head wondering what could have been had the Republicans in Harris County united behind the only conservative in the race. Who knows, even with the tepid support coming from the HCRP, he could still find himself in a runoff if conservatives turn out the vote in a low turnout election. A long shot to be sure but he has a great volunteer base that is helping to offset the difference in funding between his campaign and the three Democrats.
All in all, a great meeting and I’m looking forward to more interaction with the Kingwood Tea Party Society.